An an exhilarating work of narrative history, Mark Urban traces the story of the 95th rifles, the toughest and deadliest sharpshooters in wellington’s Army.

My Review

The book traces the story of a unit of the British Army, formed in 1803 as the 95th Regiment of Foot, who were known as The Rifles.

Up to that point, most infantry soldiers would wear the classic ‘redcoat’ with white crossbelts.

Soldiers of the time wore the ‘shako’ peaked hat or the bearskin if they were fusiliers for example and I think guards units. Riflemen were different, in many ways, to the soldiers that made up the bulk of the British Army.

The Rifles wore a distinctive ‘greenjacket’ and black leatherwork. Anyone familiar with the TV series ‘Sharpe’ will be familiar with it.

​This was the first attempt at camouflage by the British Army and was a reflection of the very different role expected of this brand new soldier.

As well as the men in the uniform, the other important part of the story is the Baker rifle which the riflemen were issued with. Whereas most soldiers in the British Army carried the Indian pattern ‘Brown Bess’ musket, which was quite inaccurate at anything over 75 yards, the Baker rifle could hit targets accurately at 200 yards.

They didn’t form up like the more traditional army units in rows but fought as skirmishers, becoming the first British soldiers to actually aim at their targets, to take cover when being shot at, to fight in the field using fire and manoeuvre tactics, they are the forerunner to the modern British infantrymen. They fought in extended order for the most part with the Baker rifle giving them advantages in range and accuracy.

The book covers the period from 1809 setting sail from Dover to Lisbon and the battles in the Peninsula War and then up to Waterloo in 1815 covering the battles and campaigning and talks equally about the officers, NCOs and men of the regiment. The book really shows how tough these guys were. The hardships they had to deal with, both the officers and men and gives a great insight into life of infantrymen of the day.

I’d recommend the book to anyone interested in British military history or the Peninsula War.